'Alternative Nobel Prize' Awarded to FoEI Chair Nnimmo Bassey

Submitted by FOEAdmin on Tue, 28/09/2010 - 06:55

PRESS RELEASEFriends of the Earth InternationalSeptember 30, 2010

'Alternative Nobel Prize' Awarded to FoEI Chair Nnimmo Bassey

STOCKHOLM (SWEDEN) / LAGOS (NIGERIA), September 30, 2010 – Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest federation of grassroots environmental organisations, is proud to announce that its chair, Nnimmo Bassey from Nigeria [1], will be a recipient of the 2010 'Right Livelihood Award'. [2]

The Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the 'Alternative Nobel Prize' will be delivered in Stockholm on December 6.

The announcement that Nnimmo Bassey is one of the four 2010 Laureates was made today at a press conference at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm.

Nnimmo Bassey, who is also Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria, was nominated “for revealing the full ecological and human horrors of oil production and for his inspired work to strengthen the environmental movement in Nigeria and globally.”

Nnimmo Bassey, who is currently in Africa, said: "This award is a vindication of the just and resolute struggles for environmental justice by impacted communities globally. We want to see an end to the corporate crimes committed by oil giants like Shell in Nigeria and around the world.”

"Friends of the Earth and four Nigerian farmers recently filed a groundbreaking court case against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell in the Netherlands for its massive oil pollution in Nigeria and we look forward to the first hearing which will take place in the coming months,” he added.

Nnimmo Bassey is one of Africa’s leading advocates and campaigners for the environment and human rights. Bassey has tirelessly stood up against the practices of multinational corporations and the environmental devastation they leave behind, destroying the lives and trampling on the rights of local people.

[1] The following items are available from http://www.foei.org/en/media/photos/nnimmo-bassey-photos/ :- Nnimmo Bassey’s biography- A selection of high-resolution, free to use photo portraits of Nnimmo Bassey- A selection of high-resolution, free to use images of oil pollution in Nigeria